How can people identify which types of bulbs and fluorescent lighting can be recycled?

This logo displayed on bulbs or fluorescent lights means that they should not be thrown in the bin with household waste. Products which do not have this logo, such as filament or halogen bulbs, can go in the bin.

Why recycle batteries and rechargeable batteries ?

Batteries – whether they are rechargeable or not – contain large quantities of heavy metals (mercury, zinc, lead, cadmium). A discarded watch battery can contaminate one square metre of ground and 1,000 square metres of water for 50 years.

This kind of waste is easy to recycle: current technology allows all of the materials which make up the battery or rechargeable battery to be recovered, including heavy metals. So all of the materials can be reused.

Where can people take used bulbs, fluorescent lighting, batteries and rechargeable batteries?

A dozen traders have containers specially designed to collect this waste in their shops:

Carrefour –Centre commercial de Fontvieille

Carrefour City - Rue des Genêts

Casino - Boulevard Albert 1er

Condamine Bricolage - Rue de Millo

Ecomarché - Avenue Hector Otto

Petit Casino - Lacets Saint Léon

Picco et fils - Avenue Saint Charles

Pro Center - Avenue Albert II

Spar - Avenue des Spélugues

The Monaco-Ville post office also accepts these categories of waste, and Monaco City Hall has a collection box for batteries and rechargeable batteries.

You can also take your waste to SMA (3 Rue du Gabian) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Saturdays.

What happens to the waste?

All the containers are collected by SMA. Used bulbs and fluorescent lighting are taken to the SOFOVAR recycling centre in Fréjus, while SCRELEC takes charge of recycling batteries and rechargeable batteries (www.screlec.fr
).